Our History

The Center for Human Development was founded in 1975 as Human Development Services by its director, Lee Webster. Lee went into private practice with a vision of providing counseling and educational services to the community using a holistic and Christian frame of reference. This was a pioneering move as there were no other Master’s level counselors in private practice in the area at the time.

Lee’s early practice was focused on individual, marital and group counseling and training for counselors. In addition, Lee was known for his speaking and corporate training programs on interpersonal relations, wellness and stress management.

In 1980, Lee’s wife, Barb joined him in practice and Human Development Services became certified as an outpatient mental health clinic by the State of Wisconsin. Other therapists who shared Lee and Barb’s vision joined the practice and in 1988 it was incorporated as the Center for Human Development. The Center and its reputation continued to grow as people sought resources for solid family based counseling. The Center for Human Development became recognized as a quality provider of individual, marital and family counseling services throughout Central Wisconsin.

In 2000, the Center for Human Development moved its central office to its present location in Wausau with a satellite office in Tomahawk. Our staff are licensed in the disciplines of psychology, social work, counseling, or marriage/family therapy. In addition, CHD provides pre-marital counseling and is also an affiliated provider for many health insurance and employee assistance programs. As a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Wausau and Tomahawk, the Center for Human Development is invested in providing quality services that improve the lives of people in Central Wisconsin.